Spring Cleaning - Day 1

Today I started my week of spring cleaning. My hubby is out of town this week, so it is the perfect time to clean, since before it is all done it usually looks like a tornado has torn through the house.
My first room to tackle was my dining room. I did the typical things like dusting and windows. Then I went through our coats that were on the coat rack and moved the heavy ones upstairs. I also went through the shoes and weeded out the ones that don't need to be down here.
I tried something new I heard about when it came time to clean the baseboards. I wiped them down, and then when they were dry I wiped them down with a dryer sheet. This is supposed to help repell the dust, we shall see how it works.
To reward myself on my clean dining room I decided to make a table runner that I have wanted to make for awhile.

It is a piece of burlap one foot wide and long enough to have 9 inches on each side hanging over the table.
I added some lace from my re-purposed previous table runner.

I was planning on doing just the burlap and lace, but decided it needed a splash of color, so I added some red ribbon that I had gotten for 50 cents on clearance at Michaels.
My original plan was to add words like, "eat", "nourish", and "munch", but I kinda like the way it looks as is. I can always add them later!


Sidenote: when sewing onto burlap always sew "zig zag", also don't think that just because there are lines on burlap that it is easy to cut in a straight line!

Valentine's Day Crafts Revealed!

I have been wanting to post pictures of the Valentine's Day gifts my kids made for my parents. However, because of sickness and not being able to make it to the post office, they just now received them, so it is safe to post the pictures!

The kids made these for my mom, who has gone back to school to learn sign language! For those of you who might not know, the sign their hands are making means I LOVE YOU!

For my dad, the kids made this for him to hang in his office. And the saying is very true...my kids really love my dad!
So that is what our crafting day gave us....now on to St. Patricks Day crafts!!!

Blessed Beyond Measure

This past week we celebrated my little Roo's second birthday.
Last year it was shortly after her birthday she started having seizures. There were times last year where I wasn't sure if we were going to have her around for a second birthday. As I look back over the last year I see blessing after blessing. God has given us such a gift in our little Roo. He blessed us by having us stationed here, the best place in the country to deal with the health problems she has. He has surrounded us with wonderful friends who have been such an encouragement and strength when we needed it. I can't even begin to express how grateful I am.
Now we have a very active, imaginative two year old running around our house....literally and figuratively!
Last Thursday, my little professor informed me that Reagan would like to have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. So that is how we started out her birthday!

We had a fun day, playing with some friends, and having Burger King for lunch. After dinner she got to open a few presents. My little professor gave her a lightsaber....that was by far her favorite present of the evening. Now they could play Star Wars together!!!
On Sunday we celebrated with family, my dad, sister, brother - in-law, uncle and mother-in-law were here to celebrate. It was great to be surrounded by family. She is all set now with a new trike, scooter...as well as the safety gear to go with it!

She had to have a little help blowing out the candles! But she didn't need any help eating the cake!

Today was her kid, owl themed birthday party. We had tons of fun playing with balloons, doing crafts and of course eating cake!!!

Crayon holders and art smocks were the favors!

So my little girl is two. I thank God every day for her!! (even on the days where she drives me CRAZY!) She has such a love for life! I can't wait to see how God uses her!!

Old into New

For awhile now I have been wanting to make my storage bins pretty. I know it might sound odd, but I would like something pretty to look at when I go to clean or even just open my closet.
Recently we have gotten a COSTCO memebership, and since you buy in bulk, you get some pretty cool, usable boxes! So this morning I went out to the garage and got one of our coffee boxes.

I really love the look of burlap, and at a recent trip to the fabric store I picked up a couple of yards. I was pleasantly suprised how in expensive it was.
Using the burlap I covered the box. It looked nice but rather plan. Then I remembered a table runner that my mother-in-law got me a few years ago. I love it, but it recently got ruined by some melted wax, so I decided to re-purpose it!

So I cut it a bit and used it to embellishment my new storage container!

Don't my supplies look "pretty" in their new home?

And my I think my laundry closet looks a bit prettier....I still have some more work to do, but it is a start!

Bringing the Sunshine In

Today is a very wet, very cold day outside. I really don't mind days like this when I don't have a ton of errands to run or places to go. I got to spend a very peaceful two hours in the kitchen while my little ones were napping/resting.
Tonight is Book Club (one of my favorite nights of the month). We each bring a snack to snack on. I decided to try an idea that I found on Pinterest. It is a healthy snack, as most of us are trying to get healthier. Sweet Potato Hummus. The bright orange color really brought the sunshine inside the house today.
I used the recipe I found as inspiration, switching a couple of things here and there. I really had to switch some things around since I found out I had no tahini, that the original called for (learning moment: check and make sure you have all the ingredients the recipe calls for and depend on your memory of once having alot of tahini!).
I plan to serve it with some toasted milk and honey bread as well as some sliced apples.

1 cup baked sweet potato (skin removed)
1 1/2 cups garbanzo beans, drained (save the juice)
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP saved garbanzo bean juice
4 TBSP Olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
1-2 tsp agave or
1 TBSP frozen orange juice concentrate
2 tsp smoked paprika (plus more for sprinkling)


Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a Food Processor (I don't have my food processor yet, so I used an immersion blender and that worked quite well).
2. Pulse or blend until smooth. For chunkier hummus - pulse the mixture and keep a few of the beans half-chopped instead of pureed.

It was very easy to throw together and very, very yummy! What is even better....it is good for you!!!

Revalation In The Commissary

Today wasn't the first day I have had a revelation in the commissary. Usually they are not positive. They are things like, "this is why I don't take my toddler grocery shopping" or "life would be a lot cheaper if we didn't have to eat".
Things were a bit different today. Today my revelation had to do with the power of words and thoughts.
As I entered the commissary today I was braced for battle. They had been closed for the past few days to do a "reset". I knew that it was going to take longer and that nothing was going to be in the "proper" place. I had my list prepared and my game face on.
The produce section hadn't changed much, so I cheerily got my vegetables. "Maybe, they won't have changed things too much", I told myself. As I entered the aisles I knew I had that thought very prematurly. I went down the first aisle and my stress level starting rising. Nothing was were it normally was. I very carefully make out my grocery list according to what is in each aisle, so there isn't alot of thought needed. Suddenly my list wasn't so helpful.
I looked around and saw the same look of confusion and helplessness on the other customers faces, and I realized that I wasn't alone. So in the middle of the baking aisle I simply spoke outloud and said, "where are the cupcake wrappers?". To my delight another lady spoke up and told me where they were. A couple other people chimed in asking where things were that they needed. We all helped each other out, and another mom and I started chatting and ended up exchanging phone numbers.
After that I stopped and started looking around. The new layout is more organized and I started thinking about how much work they had to do to set this up. I remember my resets in my retail days and the stores I did weren't nearly as big as the commissary! A spirit of thankfulness came over me.
I chatted with the cashier as she checked me out, and with the bagger that bagged my groceries, making sure to thank them for their work. I left the commissary in a good mood, which seldom happens!
On my drive home I heard a quote on the radio. "You are a master of every word that you don't speak, and a slave to the ones you do." I have been trying to work on my thought life as well as the words that come out of my mouth. I tend to get stressed out and then react quickly and very emotionally. This morning proved to me that I need to stop and re-evaluate the situations that I find myself in, from parenting a very headstrong little girl to making sure I am speaking grace to every person I come in contact with (Col 4:6).

Here is the new layout of the Ft. Meade Commissary, just in case you want to get organized before you go!

Love....True Love

You get extra cool points if you know what movie I am referencing in my title!
Our "Valentine's Day Magic" started last night. After my little professor fell asleep I snuck into his room and decorated his closet.

Each of the 25 hearts listed one of the things that my husband and I love about him.

He really seemed to enjoy it. I am thinking of leaving them up, so that way when we have one of "those days" it can remind both him and I of all the wonderful things about him!
I also packed him a special Valentine's Day lunch, I only wish I were going to be there to see his face when he discovers all of his treats!

I got up a bit early this morning to put together our Valentines Day breakfast. Once I got it in the oven I had sometime to kill. So with my feet wearing Valentine's Day socks, that my dad got me a few years ago (because anyone who knows me, knows that this is the only day of the year I will wear the socks) and sipping coffee out of my Valentines Day mug, I started meditating on John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends".

The idea that we weren't even Christ's friends when He died for us just astounds me! That is definately a "God-thing". It is because of that sacrifice that we are able to celebrate Valentine's Day at all. It is because of that sacrifice that we are able to show love to each other.
After my few quiet moments I got together the kids breakfast. Puff pastry hearts with a berry sauce.

They were very yummy, but a little messy!
The kids came downstairs to a few little Valentine's Day gifts from us and their grandparents. I put them in little heart baskets that my dear friend had given me a few years ago.

I am sending my little professor to school for his first Valentines Day school party. Watching him fill out Valentines cards for his classmates brought back some fun memories. Later on we will enjoy a Valentine's Day party with our military family!

Our mailboxes are all ready for some Valentines!
So Happy Valentines Day everyone! Hope you have a wonderful day filled with love!